Device for recording information on a vehicle&#39;s itinerary

ABSTRACT

A device installed in a vehicle for recording information on the itinerary of the vehicle. The device includes a receiver system for receiving wirelessly transmitted information for identifying the current geographical position of the vehicle, a computer unit for computing digitalized data on the geographical position of the vehicle, and a memory unit for continuous storage of the digitalized geographical position data of the vehicle on a data carrier, which is protected against overwriting of recorded data, whereby the memory device also stores time data, which allow identification of the particular point in time at which a particular vehicle position was found. So that an itinerary taken by a vehicle can later be reconstructed without great expense the data carrier is configured to be easily exchangeable, and a data reading device is provided for the input of data that identify the driver of the vehicle and are recorded on the data carrier.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a device installed in a vehicle for recordinginformation on the vehicle's itinerary.

In the unpublished patent application DE-P 43 10 099.6 of the applicant,a device for a utilization calculation system is proposed that isespecially suited for calculating the charges for a road network thatrequires the payment of fees (e.g., calculating Autobahn tolls), Thisdevice is distinguished from other known calculation systems primarilyby the fact that the charges are calculated practically exclusivelywithin the vehicle itself and that no information about the toll roadstaken by the vehicle leaves the vehicle. This is possible because eachvehicle carries a calculation device that continually deducts the propercharge, based on the applicable tariff for the section of road justtaken, from a credit balance, which is maintained on a mobile creditbalance memory device (e.g., a chip card) and which has been purchasedin advance by the driver at any desired payment point (e.g., anautomatic chip card dispenser). For this purpose, tariff information isavailable from a memory unit of the device. In order to supply thecalculation device with the information needed to identify the sectionof toll road just used, the device has a receiver system, with whichinformation can be received from a satellite navigation system or aradio direction finding system, for example, which indicates the currentgeographical position of the vehicle or allows this position to bedetermined with the help of a computer unit of the device. Furthermore,the calculation device has a memory unit, in which geographicalinformation concerning so-called "identification points" is stored,which allows the unambiguous identification of the individual tollsegments of the road network. Via the receiver system, data aredetermined at short, regular intervals (e.g., every second) for thecurrent geographical vehicle position at that moment with high accuracy(e.g., 100 m). If the determined position data are sufficiently close toconsecutive identification points, it is possible to conclude from themthat the associated toll road section has been traversed, and anappropriate deduction can automatically be made from the positive creditbalance on the chip card. Although this device determines thegeographical positions passed by the vehicle in a very accurate manner,the device is not meant or designed to store this type of position datapermanently.

In FR 26 12 319, a device installed in a vehicle is described that makesit possible to also record, along with vehicle-specific data (e.g.,motor speed, fuel consumption), data that identify the route, on anexchangeable data carrier designed, for example, as a chip card, for thepurpose of cost computation taking into account the intensity of theutilization of a vehicle. In this connection, only the possibility ofrecording the route travelled is mentioned. However, no suggestions aregiven for collecting and storing in a manner protected againstoverwriting data that allow a reliable statement to be made concerningthe location at which the vehicle was located during a trip at aparticular given time.

Data can already be stored on the exchangeable data memory device thatidentify the driver, so that these data can be entered by means of adata reading device. In addition, it is possible for the purposes ofchecking to enter additional data identifying the driver via a keyboardattached to the device, in order to prevent misuse of the data carrierby an unauthorized person. After calculation has been carried out, therecorded data can again be written over with the data of the next trip.

EP-A 0 508 405 describes a system for determining the position of avehicle, which preferably is based on the use of a system for satellitenavigation. In order to be able to record the daily travel performanceof a commercial vehicle (e.g., a taxi) as accurately as possible andwith the lowest possible device-related expense, this system calls for asimple device in each vehicle, which permits the reception of satellitesignals and the storage of these data with associated time informationin digital form on a chip card. For regular analysis, the recorded datacan be read out from the chip card into a vehicle-external computer,which determines via an analysis program the vehicle position datacomputable from the satellite signals as well as the routes resultingtherefrom and in this way determines the vehicle performance. Datarecording protected against overwriting is not considered, nor is therecording of data that permit unambiguous identification of the driver.

EP-A 0 189 204 relates to a vehicle-internal device intended for autility vehicle for recording essential operating parameters of vehicleuse on a mobile storage medium, e.g., a chip card. This storage mediumcan be read into an external computer device, so that the recorded dataare available for analysis for purposes of administration (e.g., costcalculation) or vehicle maintenance. Recording data protected againstoverwriting for unambiguous identification of the driver of the vehicleand of locations at which the vehicle was located at given points intime is not considered.

In EP-A 0 191 413, a trip recorder is proposed in which, analogous tothe usual tachographic registration, routes taken and speeds arerecorded on an electronic storage medium, which is designed as a mobiledata card and into which data identifying the driver are entered. Thecollection of geographical positions of the vehicle is not foreseen. Aprinter unit integrated into the trip recorder allows the printing outof a tabular trip protocol with the work time data and route data of thedriver.

From U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,206, an electronic recording device for garbagecollection vehicles is known, with which the particular location of thegarbage collection vehicle as well as associated time information arestored when the garbage collection vehicle carries out a procedure forloading or unloading garbage. In order to determine the location, thevehicle is equipped with a device for receiving signals of anavigational transmitter (e.g., navigational satellite system). Awrite-protected recording of data that unambiguously identifies thedriver, as well as of data that permits an exact identification ofvehicle position at any given point in time for the purposes of trafficcontrol, is not provided.

From DE 38 28 725 A1, a device for recording information on a vehicle'sitinerary is known that is used as a navigational device for motorvehicles. For the purpose of determining current location, this devicehas a receiver system for the satellite navigation system (GPS). Inaddition, the device has a memory with digitalized maps and a datacarrier--for example, in the form of a chip card (IC card)--for storingitinerary data. A computer unit determines the data of the routeactually taken by the vehicle and stores this data on the data carrier;information about the travel time consumed can also be stored. In orderto minimize the quantity of stored data, the device stores theidentifying index numbers of individual maps (map numbers) and theroutes contained therein (route numbers) as well as the so-called"junctions" (e.g., route branchings) only after these points haveactually been passed by the vehicle. No information is recorded as longas the current values of map numbers and route numbers remain unchanged.

This known device serves only as a navigational aid for the vehicledriver and is meant to supply the driver with better and moreinformative data (e.g., in respect to the travel time remaining untildestination) when he takes the same route again. This device is notintended for legal traffic monitoring tasks. No disclosures are made asto whether the data carrier for recording information on the vehicle'sitinerary might perhaps not be installed permanently into the device,unlike the other components, but is rather arranged in easilyexchangeable fashion.

Especially in the case of commercial transports, there is often thedesire to collect information on the itinerary of a vehicle not onlyquantitatively (length) but also qualitatively (routing), in the form ofa trip journal, and also to determine without any doubt who drove thevehicle. For example, for special transports of hazardous materials(e.g., the transport of radioactive material) very definite travelroutes can be designated, from which no deviations are permitted. It ispresently very expensive to provide proof of this, because doing sorequires the use of appropriate monitoring personnel in each vehicle oreven the use of escort vehicles.

On the other hand, there are geographical zones (e.g., protecteddrinking water areas) where vehicles with loads that are potentiallyhazardous to water (e.g., tanker trucks) are generally not permitted totravel. Until now, violations of such regulations could be detected onlyif noticed (by chance) by monitoring personnel working on the spot.

Furthermore, it should be noted that it is the operators of largervehicle fleets (e.g., shipping companies) in particular who have aninterest in directing and monitoring the economic utilization of theirtransport capacities (fleet management systems) as well as possible.Until now, in respect to the actual operation of vehicles, only the dataprovided by legally-required trip recorders for utility vehicles isavailable, which is recorded on tachograph charts. These do not permitthe later reconstruction of the individual roads actually taken by thevehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to further develop a device ofthe generic type in such a way that the routes taken by a vehicle canlater be reconstructed without great expense and unambiguous informationcan be secured that also makes it possible to prove conclusively whodrove the vehicle at what time and where.

Pursuant to this object, and others which will become apparenthereafter, one aspect of the present invention resides in a device forrecording itinerary data of a vehicle, which device includes a receiversystem for receiving wirelessly transmitted data for identification of acurrent geographical position of the vehicle. Computer means areprovided for computing digitalized the data of the geographical vehicleposition. Memory means continuously store the digitalized geographicalvehicle position on a data carrier which is exchangeably mounted to thememory means and is protected against overwriting of the recorded data.The memory means initially also stores time data for identifying aparticular point in time at which an individual geographical vehicleposition is determined. Additionally, a data reading device is providedfor inputting data which identify the vehicle operator and are recordedon the data carrier.

This object is attained by means of the characterizing features ofPatent claim 1. Advantageous further developments of the invention areindicated in the subclaims 2 to 13.

By means of the present invention, an "electronic trip journal" isautomatically maintained, into which all trips of a vehicle are enteredin a manner that permits its route to later be reconstructed. For thispurpose, a device is carried in the vehicle, which is installed in thevehicle as a compact device or as separate components connected to oneanother by means of informational technology. An essential part of theinvention is a receiver system, with which wirelessly transmitted datacan be received that allow the geographical position just reached by thevehicle to be accurately determined (e.g., on the basis of signals of asatellite navigation system such as GPS or GLONASS) or itself showspositional data (e.g., with a radio direction finding system). Accuratelocation determination can also be carried out in the framework of amobile cellular broadcast network. The use of a satellite navigationalsystem is considered especially preferable. In this case, the deviceaccording to the invention is also equipped with a computer unit thatpermits computation of the relevant positional data based on thereceived satellite information. A further essential component is amemory device, which allows the digitalized geographical vehicleposition data to be recorded on a data carrier. The data carrier iseasily exchangeable and is protected against overwriting of alreadyrecorded data, in order to prevent impermissible later manipulations ofstored data. To this end, encryption of the recorded data is alsopossible, and can advantageously be connected to compression of therecorded data. Compression offers the additional advantage ofsubstantially increasing the capacity of the data carrier. A memorydevice with a magnetic basis, such as a diskette, can be used as thedata carrier, for example. Optical memory media (compact disks) areespecially suitable; those with only one-time writability (WORM) arepreferred.

Along with purely geographical position data, the memory device alsorecords associated time information (time of day, date). Advantageously,the position data are determined by the device at regular time intervals(e.g., every 5 to 10 seconds). A possible alternative is route-dependentposition finding (e.g., every 100 m). Especially in the first case,which calls for fixed clock timing, it is naturally not necessary tostore a time datum for each position datum. For example, it would bepossible, based on the recording of the start time of a trip, tocalculate the respective associated times for the individual positiondata based on the clock. The time information itself can be obtained bymeans of a clock integrated into the device according to the inventionor by means of an appropriate transmission system from outside.

In addition, the device according to the invention is also equipped witha data reading device, which makes it possible to enter data thatidentify the driver of the vehicle. These data are also recorded on thedata carrier that stores the route information in memory. In particular,a chip card reader can be used for such a data reading device. In orderto prevent possible misuse, additional identification, for example, apersonal identification number (PIN), can be entered by means of akeyboard or via fingerprint reader or a voice identification device.

When the fingerprint or the voice of the driver is checked, a chip cardcan naturally be dispensed with, if the identifying data have previouslybeen stored one time in a suitable data storage device of the deviceaccording to the invention.

In an advantageous further embodiment of the invention, the device canbe equipped with an interface, via which current data on vehicleoperation can be provided for recording in the storage device. Theadditional recorded data can relate, for example, to vehicle speed,current fuel consumption, motor speed or similar variables. In this way,it becomes possible to carry out evaluations on which, for example,better economic utilization of transportation resources can be achieved.A further interface can be provided, via which the recorded data or thedata to be recorded (especially the position data) are transmittedcontinuously or at certain time intervals (e.g., every 5 minutes) bymeans of a communications device carried in the vehicle, preferably amobile phone as per the GSM standard, to a receiver point (e.g., thedispatch center of a shipping company) for analysis. This makes itpossible to exercise, for example, deliberate external influence on thevehicle route to be chosen. For purposes of police checking, the datacarrier can be removed (like the tachograph chart of a trip recorder)from the device according to the invention and checked in a suitablereading device. For this purpose, the reading device has a digitalizedstreet map, so that the route of travel can be accurately simulated bycomparing the recorded position data to the stored data of the streetnetwork. Instead of removing the data carrier, however, a suitableinterface can be provided which allows the stored data to be read out.

In order to notify the driver in time to exchange an almost depleteddata carrier (i.e., one that is almost filled up) for a data carrierwith sufficient free memory capacity, so that a loss of data is avoided,the device according to the invention should be provided with a suitablesignal device that is controlled by software and warns the driver whenthe capacity limit will soon to be reached.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The single FIGURE is a schematic representation of the inventive device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be described in greater detail by means of thefollowing example:

In the vehicle of a shipping company, there is a device according to theinvention for recording information on the vehicle itinerary. Atintervals of 5 seconds, this device calculates the geographical positionof the vehicle via the GPS satellite navigational system. Thedigitalized position coordinates, together with the particular point intime at which the position information was obtained, are stored on amobile data carrier in the form of a CD-WORM. In addition to thisinformation, the vehicle speed and the actual fuel consumption arecollected via an interface and are also stored. In order to relate therecorded data to the driver of the vehicle, the device is informed ofthe driver's identify prior to the start of the trip via a chip cardreader, which reads the data on a chip card belonging to the driver inquestion. The data carrier for recording the route information is easilyexchangeable and has a large memory volume. Because the itinerary isusually known before a trip starts, the memory required can be estimatedin a timely manner and a suitable data carrier with sufficient freecapacity can be used, so that the entire trip is documented. In theevent that memory problems nonetheless occur, a warning can be generatedin a timely manner by a suitable software routine, telling the driver toremove the almost full data carrier and replace it with an empty one.

After the end of the trip, the stored data can be placed in an archiveand compared as necessary to a digitalized road map. This comparison canbe processed graphically by suitable software and archived in the formof hard copy.

In a further development of the invention, the collected data (inaddition to be stored) can be sent via an additional interface with amobile phone as per the GSM standard to the central operations office ofthe shipping company. There these data are made available for analysisso that the course of the trip can be influenced as needed. For example,such an interface could be used to direct a hazardous materialstransport along a route based on the current traffic situation. The GPSand GSM functions are advantageously combined in one device. In order toprevent the identity of a driver from being falsified to hisdisadvantage, because he is liable under certain circumstances fordamages that arise during the trip, the driver to whom the chip cardbelongs must prove his identity prior to beginning the trip by enteringa PIN code via a keyboard. This prevents an unauthorized person fromdriving with a chip card that is not rightfully in his possession. Sothat the recorded data cannot be manipulated, they are stored inencrypted form. At the same time, to reduce the data volume, suitabledata compression is used. From the start, the data carrier is writableonly once (WORM), so that later manipulations are ruled out.Manipulation at the interface with the position data collection systemor the other interfaces is prevented by suitable sealing measures. Inorder to allow the vehicle to be checked by the police during a trip, anadditional interface is provided on the device, which makes it possibleto rapidly read out the data on the trip history.

In the navigational device known from DE 38 28 725 A1, the itinerarydata are, because of the system used, recorded only for very particularpoints on a route. This means that deviations from a pre-establishedroute of travel, for example, temporary travel on dirt roads, which arenot included on the digitalized road map, can go undetected, as canimpermissible lingering at any given point between two (fly established)recording points. The device according to the invention closes theseloopholes completely.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for recording itinerary data of avehicle, the device comprising:a receiver system for receivingwirelessly transmitted data for identification of a current geographicalposition of the vehicle; computer means for computing digitalized dataof the geographical vehicle position; memory means for continuouslystoring the digitalized geographical vehicle position data on a datacarrier, which is protected against overwriting of recorded data, thememory means additionally storing time data for identifying a particularpoint in time at which an individual geographical vehicle position isdetermined, the data carrier being exchangeably mounted in the memorymeans; data reading means for inputting data which identify a vehicleoperator and are recorded on the data carrier; and additional inputmeans for inputting data identifying the operator.
 2. A device asdefined in claim 1, wherein the memory means is operative to record thedata on the data carrier in encrypted form.
 3. A device as defined inclaim 1, wherein the data reading means is a chip card reader.
 4. Adevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the additional input meansincludes a keyboard.
 5. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein theadditional input means includes a fingerprint recognition device.
 6. Adevice as defined in claim 1, wherein the additional input meansincludes a voice identification device.
 7. A device as defined in claim1, wherein the memory means is a diskette station.
 8. A device asdefined in claim 1, wherein the memory means includes an optical memorymedium.
 9. A device as defined in claim 8, wherein the optical memorymedium is a compact disk with one-time writability.
 10. A device asdefined in claim 1, wherein the memory means includes an innerface viawhich current data on vehicle operation can be collected and recorded.11. A device as defined in claim 10, wherein the innerface is configuredso that at least one of vehicle speed, fuel consumption and engine speedcan be collected and recorded.
 12. A device as defined in claim 1,wherein the memory means is operative to record the digitalized data onthe data carrier in compressed form.
 13. A device as defined in claim 1,and further comprising signal means for giving a warning signal in atimely manner when a capacity limit of the data carrier approaches. 14.A device as defined in claim 1, wherein the memory means includes aninnerface via which at least a portion of the recorded data can be readout for verification purposes.
 15. A device as defined in claim 1, andfurther comprising communication means for transmitting the data to areceiver point for analysis.
 16. A device as defined in claim 15,wherein the communication means includes a mobile telephone operative onthe GSM standard.
 17. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein thereceiver system is configured to receive data from a satellitenavigation system.
 18. A device as defined in claim 1, wherein thereceiver system is configured to receive data from a radio directionfinding system.
 19. A process for recording itinerary data of a vehicle,comprising the steps of:receiving wirelessly transmitted data foridentifying a current geographical position of the vehicle; computingdigitalized data of the geographical vehicle position; continuouslystoring the digitalized geographical vehicle position data on anexchangeable data carrier which is protected against overwriting ofrecorded data, additionally storing time data for identifying aparticular point in time in which an individual geographical vehicleposition is determined; inputting data which identify a vehicle operatorand are recorded on the data carrier; and inputting additional dataidentifying the operator and not recorded on the data carrier.